Mablethorpe RNLI Lifeguards and Lifeboat crew rescue young girl swept out to sea

At 5pm lifeguards patrolling Mablethorpe Beach were alerted to a girl who had been swept around 800m out to sea on an inflatable. The child’s uncle was already in the water and was attempting to bring the girl back to the beach when he also got into difficulty.

RNLI Lifeguard Tom Harrop immediately drove down on an All-Terrain Vehicle (quad), as the incident took place around a mile north from where lifeguards were patrolling, and then swam out to both casualties.

Also at the scene were the Mablethorpe Lifeboat crew who had been paged by the Mablethorpe Coastguard, rescuing both the girl and her inflatable. Meanwhile, lifeguard Tom assisted the man back to the shore with a rescue tube.

After the charity’s lifeguards carried out their casualty care checks, they administered oxygen to the male casualty and it was clear he required further medical attention after swallowing sea water. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) were soon at the scene and took the man to hospital. The young girl was fine and had received no serious injuries.

RNLI Lifeguard Arun Gray said: ‘This is just one of many incidents we have had to assist with as a result of people bringing inflatables to the beaches over summer.

‘Inflatables shouldn’t be used in the sea as they are very easily swept out to sea. However if you do choose to use inflatables, we advise people to use them between the red and yellow flags on a lifeguarded beach.

‘We also warn people not to use inflatables when the orange windsock is flying, as this indicates there are strong offshore winds.’

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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